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Tree Swallow

Tachycineta bicolorOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Swallows (Hirundinidae)

Tree Swallow Portrait
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General

Tree Swallow: Medium-sized swallow with iridescent blue-green upperparts and white underparts. Wings are dark gray and tail is dark and forked. Female and juvenile are duller.

Range and Habitat

Tree Swallow: Breeds from Alaska east through northern Manitoba to Newfoundland and south to California, Colorado, Nebraska, and Maryland. Spends winters north to southern California, the Gulf Coast, and the Carolinas. Preferred habitats include open areas near water, such as fields, marshes, meadows, shorelines, beaver ponds, and wooded swamps with standing dead trees.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"chi-veet"

Interesting Facts

  • The Tree Swallow was first described in 1808 by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot, a French Ornithologist.
  • They are known to "fight" over feathers in mid-air for reasons which are still under investigation. There is some speculation that this is a form of play.
  • It winters farther north than any other American swallow, and it returns to its nesting grounds long before other swallows come back.
  • A group of tree swallows are known collectively as a "stand" of swallows.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Tree Swallow
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Tachycineta bicolor
Length5.75 Inches
Wingspan12.5 Inches

Tree Swallow

Tree Swallow: Medium-sized swallow with iridescent blue-green upperparts and white underparts. The wings are dark gray and tail is dark and forked. Black bill, legs and feet. Swift, graceful flight, alternates slow, deep wing beats with short or long glides. Turns back sharply on insects it passes.

● Song: "chi-veet"

● Foraging & Feeding: Tree Swallow: Feeds mostly on insects caught while in flight; also forages on the ground for insects, spiders, seeds, and berries; may travel long distances to find food.

● Breeding & nesting: Tree Swallow: Four to six white eggs are laid in a feather-lined cup of grass built in a tree cavity or nest box. Incubation ranges from 13 to 16 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Tree Swallow: Violet-green Swallow has more white on rump and face and greener upperparts. Bank Swallow is smaller, duller, and has breast band. Northern Rough-winged Swallow has dark throat and warmer brown upperparts.

Flight Pattern

Swift graceful flight with slow deep wing beats.
Tree Swallow Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Tree Swallow: Breeds from Alaska east through northern Manitoba to Newfoundland and south to California, Colorado, Nebraska, and Maryland. Spends winters north to southern California, the Gulf Coast, and the Carolinas. Preferred habitats include open areas near water, such as fields, marshes, meadows, shorelines, beaver ponds, and wooded swamps with standing dead trees.
BreedingPolygamous, Loose colonies
PopulationIncreasing, Abundant
MigrationMigratory
Weight0.7 Ounces